New Song MV Coincides with Taylor Swift's Theme: Jay Chou Bothered by Inspiration Overlap

"Jay Chou" recently found himself embroiled in a billion-dollar financial dispute allegedly linked to magician friend Tsai Wei-ze, leading Jay to publicly seek out the person involved and unfollow him, signaling a fallout. Last night, Jay mentioned another big headache, and this time it involves Western pop diva Taylor Swift.
Last week, Jay posted on his Instagram story, asking, “Is anyone more annoyed than me by these inspiration overlaps?” It turns out his frustration comes from a coincidence: he and Taylor Swift both paid tribute to the same famous painting in their music videos—Taylor’s new album The Life of a Showgirl lead single The Fate of Ophelia, and Jay’s not-yet-released MV. Jay shared a clip from his upcoming MV and wrote: “Sometimes, you film an MV way ahead of time, but you have to wait until all the songs for the album are completed before you can release it. Then, unexpectedly, another artist with the same inspiration, also paying tribute to the same painting, releases theirs first. It’s so frustrating! What do you guys think—keep waiting till the album is finished, or just release this as a single first?” Many fans encouraged him to just release the single, since the MV is already done.

Jay mentioned that the inspiration overlap is mainly with Taylor Swift’s new song and his own unpublished track, both coincidentally paying tribute to the same masterpiece: Ophelia by British painter John Everett Millais. In the past, Jay and his wife Hannah Quinlivan had attended a Taylor Swift concert together, and both he and Taylor have appeared on the IFPI Global Best Selling Albums chart. In 2022, Jay took the top spot with Greatest Works of Art, while Taylor’s Midnights followed right behind.